By Jessica Eden

Josephine Rapp, 102, is a tiny woman. Her brown hair is set
in a classic halo of curls around her head. She wears a tasteful pearl necklace
layered with another silver necklace with a diamond pendant. Coming in at just
under 5 feet, Josephine may not be tall but her personality is larger than life.

“Jo”, as her friends call her, lives in her own little
‘apartment’ at an assisted living center in Erlanger. She is the definition of
a social butterfly with, what can strongly be assumed as, the MOST festively
decorated door at the center. She even has an envelope, pen and paper for
people to leave notes for her when she isn’t ‘home’.

Even her walker is classy which boasts a sassy matching seat
cover and pouch. When we arrived to speak with her, Jo was busily making a big,
beautiful silver bow. Even at 102, sewing and crafting are still her favorite pastimes
and she was an active member of the Crafty Ladies and Red Hat Ladies for years.
She says she doesn’t know if she’s creative...but she sure likes to make
things!

In April, Josephine will celebrate her 103rd birthday. A
deeply religious woman who is active in her church, Jo’s congregation devoted
300 hours of prayer for her to celebrate her 100th birthday in 2016. What’s her
secret?

“A positive attitude and her friends.”

“I love all my friends. They say ‘Jo, thank you for smiling.
It makes me happy”. It’s just the way I feel. I’m happy to see everybody. I
feel sorry for those who aren’t, so I always smile.”

According to Josephine’s granddaughter, Heather Murphy of
Fort Thomas, Jo relies heavily on faith, hope and love...the greatest of these
being love. “She has a heart of gold for everyone she meets.”

After meeting her, Fort Thomas Living can confirm that this
is, in fact, true.

She was even recently chosen to be the ‘face’ of a new
advertising campaign for Express Mobile Transportation, a new division of
Executive Transportation in Newport, Kentucky. Jo’s granddaughter Heather’s
husband Dennis is part owner.

Recently, FTL sat down with Josephine to learn more about
her early life, her love story and the key to a happy life and successful
marriage.

Early Life:

Born in 1916, Josephine is the youngest child of her
Lebanese parents, Betsy and Jabour. Jo grew up in Cincinnati where her father
owned and operated a pool hall on Sycamore St. The family lived above the pool
hall in a small apartment. When Jo was nine months old, her mother passed away
and her Dad had to take care of her and her two older siblings, Aziz and Julie.

Jo attended St. Xavier School in Cincinnati and when FTM
asked about her memories from that time in her life, she lit up. “I loved
school but I only went to school until the 8th grade because my father went
blind and I had to take care of him. I remember Sister Cecilia loved me, she
knit me a hat and scarf for me. I sent her a Mother’s Day card. She was so good
to me — advising me, telling me never to wear makeup because I was beautiful
the way I was.”

At school, Jo and other students were treated to weekly movies...but
they couldn’t read so Father Finn would read to them. “Every Monday night at
St. Xavier School, they’d show a movie. Father Finn would gather us around and
read the movie to us. He always talked to us, told us to be careful, obey our
parents.”

Although Jo enjoyed school and her friends, there were times
when she ached for a mother. “I remember my first communion in grade school. My
dad was there with me but everyone else had their mothers. I remember being sad
that my mother wasn’t there to fix my veil. My sister tried make sure I looked
good for communion but it just wasn’t the same.”

Times were tough growing up but Jo’s older sister Julie did
her best to be a mother to Jo. “My father wasn’t concerned with holidays so my
sister and her friends saved up their money to buy me a doll. They hid it under
the bed and as I was playing jacks one day, the ball went under the bed and I
found it. I said ‘Santa Claus was here!’ And it just broke her heart because
she wanted to give me that doll. She always tried to be a mother to me.”

Love:

In 1935, Jo met her future husband Charlie for the first
time. One of her friends, whom she called “Baby”, had a grocery store near her
apartment. Jo got a job there helping Baby out. On her way to work one day, she
passed two men waiting for a bus to take them to the swimming pool at Sycamore
St. and 4th. One of them was Charlie. “Our eyes met and my knees started
shaking. He finally came in the store and bought something. He said the same
thing happened to him. He thought I was the most beautiful girl.” Charlie asked
Jo on a date but her father Jabour wouldn’t allow her to date at 19.

Despite her father’s wishes, she did meet him one day on the
corner of her street but quickly became nervous. “I met him and I got so nervous
that I told him I had to run home and get my hat...and I never came back. I
didn’t even wear hats!”

Little did she know their paths would cross again during the
Great Flood of 1937. She and her sister Julie and brother-in-law Nelson decided
to go look at the flood waters and before going, they stopped at a store. Jo
ran in to buy a ‘Coca-Cola’and
lo and behold; Charlie was working the counter. “I went up to the counter and
said, ‘I’ll have this please’ and he said ‘Is that right?? Why’d you stand me
up?’ I was so embarrassed I ran back out to the car and said ‘Step on it
Nelson! The fella I stood up is in there!’ Charlie ran out, stood on the rails
of the car and said, ‘If you stop, I’ll buy you a beer at the restaurant across
the street.’ Nelson agreed and Charlie and Jo talked and danced the night away.
“His friends kept asking for the next dance but Charlie told them no.”

Jo’s father finally agreed to let them date but Charlie was
so enamored with Jo that he wanted to get married immediately. The problem was
that Jo’s father Jabour didn’t like him. “He said he was ‘too worldly wise’ for
me. Charlie would come around the house and Dad would shove him but Charlie
wouldn’t give up.”

Eventually Jabour became frustrated and sent Jo off to live
with her aunt in Chicago. She was there for two years and her aunt even made
her get engaged to a Lebanese linen shop owner named Ferris. When she came home
for a family wedding, her friends told Charlie she would be in town and
arranged for him to come see her. Jo was completely surprised and realized that
she belonged with him. “Ferris had given me a big diamond ring. His mother was
so nice to me...but when I saw Charlie, I never went back to Chicago. I gave
Ferris his ring back. He cried like a baby and flew back three times to
convince me to go back.”

Finally, Charlie and Jo began dating. After about eight
months, Charlie convinced Jo to meet his mother. Jo was terrified of the
Irish/German family and afraid that his mother, Maggie, wouldn’t like her. “I
told him there were plenty of other girls he could take to meet her. Other
girls that did the Irish jig...but he didn’t want them. He dragged me there and
she came out on the porch and hugged me immediately. Maggie was the closest
thing I had to a mother. She was with me with all of my babies.”

Marriage & Family:

Jo married Charlie at Sacred Heart Church when she was 24
years old. The ceremony was conducted by Father Finn. The couple then relocated
to Bellevue, just two blocks from where Charlie’s mother Maggie lived. Since Jo
still worked making bows for shoes at a factory on 3rd and Sycamore, Maggie
would often let herself in to their apartment to help with their laundry and
dishes.

For a fun night out, Jo and Charlie would go to the Eagles
Lodge in Bellevue. “One time I saw two pretty blondes and said ‘Oh, they’re so
pretty’ and Charlie said he only had eyes for me….then he got up and sang “I
Only Have Eyes For You” to me. I’ve always loved that song.” The original song
was released in 1934 in the movie “Dames” and has been covered several times,
most notably by “The Flamingos” in 1959.

Charlie and Jo would also go dancing at one of the most
beautiful venues, just across the river. “I LOVED to dance! We’d go to
Moonlight Gardens.”

In the 1939, World War II began and the US was soon called
upon to join the war. As a result, Charlie, a Seabee, was deployed leaving Jo
with two little kids and very little money to survive on. “I had one baby and a
second baby on the way and I watched him leave. It was the saddest day of my
life. He was gone for two years.” Jo was only given $62 to live on during that
time.

Upon his safe return, Jo and her husband Charlie went on to
have a total of ten
children:
five girls and five boys. Each child is only two to four years apart. “My
husband put his order in for two girls and two boys. We just always prayed for
healthy kids.” Now, the kids range in age from the mid-50s to late-70s with
their own families. Jo has 27 grandchildren, 42 great grandchildren and five
great-great grandchildren.

The Rapp family eventually settled in a house they built at
408 Clark St. in Bellevue where they lived for 42 years.

Jo and Charlie were married for 64 years until Charlie’s
death in 2002.

Jo’s secret to a successful marriage?

“Go with the flow. “

“We were both easy going! Well…Charlie was easy going until
after eight kids."